NEW YORK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st March, 2020) Stocks on Wall Street fell up to nearly 5 percent, ending another rough week as the novel coronavirus pandemic shut down huge swathes of the US economy by locking up millions of Americans in their homes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average index, the broadest equities gauge on the New York Stock Exchange, closed down 4.5 percent on Friday.
The S&P500, barometer for the top 500 US stocks, settled down 4.8 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 3.8 percent.
For the year, the Dow was now down 33 percent, the S&P500 29 percent and Nasdaq 23 percent after two straight weeks of losses that have been the worst for US stocks since the financial crisis.
This week's rout came despite aid of more than $1 trillion announced by the Trump administration to help most US businesses and families through the economic effects of the pandemic, which has infected more than 18,000 Americans and killed at least 200.
California, the most populous US state with about 40 million people, and New York, which has nearly 20 million people, ordered their residents, except those performing essential services, to stay home to try and contain the outbreak.
The shut-ins and other restrictions on society and business have led to widespread fears that a recession is almost inevitable in the world's largest economy.
